Holy Resurrection Byzantine Catholic Mission

Icon of the Archangel Gabriel

O ye incorporeal angels who stand before the throne of God, luminous with the brilliance thereof and everlastingly shining with radiance. As secondary luminaries, entreat Christ, that He grant unto our souls peace and great mercy.

O immortal messengers of the truly incorruptible Life, ye most blessed ones who received life from the first Life, ye have become holy beholders of the eternal Wisdom, full of light, and reflecting lamps shown forth as is meet.

O ye archangels and angels, principalities, thrones, dominions, six-winged seraphim, and divine, many-eyed cherubim, instruments of wisdom, virtues and powers most divine. Pray ye to Christ, that He grant our souls peace and great mercy.

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HOLY RESURRECTION BYZANTINE CATHOLIC MISSION
FATHER THOMAS O’CONNELL, PASTOR
FATHER DEACON RON VOLEK, PASTORAL ASSISTANT
HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC CHURCH
307 BLACK OAK RIDGE ROAD PO BOX 817
SEYMOUR, TN 37865
PHONE: 865-609-1081
www.hrbcc.org

Slava Isusu Christu! Slava Na Niky!
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory Forever!

Divine Liturgy begins at 4 p.m. Every Sunday
Ninth Hour Prayer precedes Liturgy at 3:30 p.m.

Potluck supper follows Liturgy on the third Sunday of the month
Also at this time non-perishable foods and items for those in need

AUGUST 19, 2007
TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST
POSTFESTIVE DAY OF THE DORMITION
THE HOLY MARTYR ANDREW THE TRIBUNE AND HIS COMPANIONS

GOSPEL THOUGHT ON THE 12TH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST (MATTHEW 19:16-26)

“Good Master, what must I do to gain eternal life?” (Matthew 19: 16-17)

The young man in today’s Gospel heard the invitation of Jesus but did not come. He bowed his head and slowly walked away. He disappeared—perhaps forever—among the crowds of Judean humanity. There are those who believe that he returned at some later date and accepted Jesus on the Lord’s own terms, which, indeed, is the only way we can accept Him. Some Church Fathers, such as the illustrious John Chrysostom, believed that the youth was saved, even though he could not, at the precise moment of our Gospel lesson, bring himself to a point of total commitment. At any rate, the Gospels tell us no more of this young man.

Surely the Lord is patient and merciful, although we are warned many times in the pages of Holy Scripture not to try His patience, nor yet to tamper with His mercy. The invitation that Jesus Christ extended to that young man, He extends to each of us today. And our destiny for all of eternity depends on how, or whether, we respond to His call of “Come, follow me.” Be sure to count the cost. Jesus demands all of your life, every part of you, to make a new creature in Himself, to bestow upon you a life that is truly abundant now and throughout the ages to come. The choice is yours. The invitation stands.

—The Reverend George Dimopoulos

The Dormition of the Theotokos

Festal Hymns

In giving birth, you preserved your virginity! In falling asleep, you did not forsake the world, O Theotokos! You were translated to life, O Mother of Life, and by your prayers you deliver our souls from death!

—Troparion Tone 1

Neither the tomb nor death could hold the Theotokos, who is constant in prayer and is our firm hope through her intercessions. For being the Mother of Life, she was translated to life by the One who dwelt in her virginal womb!

—Kontakion Tone Two

O Pure Virgin, you have won victory over the world by bringing forth God; yet like your Son and Creator, you have submitted to the laws of nature in a manner above nature. Therefore, in falling asleep, you have risen to live eternally with your Son.

—Matins

Following the day of Pentecost, the Theotokos remained in the city of Jerusalem and comforted the infant Christian community. At the time of her death—tradition states she was in her early 50s—many of the apostles were scattered, preaching the Gospel throughout the world. However, they all returned to Jerusalem upon learning of her death. All except St. Thomas arrived in time for the burial. When the other apostles showed him the tomb in Gethsemane where she had been buried near her parents, they found the tomb empty. Church Tradition relates that she was bodily resurrected and taken to heaven, the same reward that awaits all the righteous on the Last Day.

As with the Nativity of the Virgin and the feast of her Entrance to the Temple, there are no biblical or historical sources for this feast. The Tradition of the Church is that Mary died as all people die, not “voluntarily” as her Son, but by the necessity of her mortal human nature, which is indivisibly bound up with the corruption of this world.

The Church proclaims that Mary truly needed to be saved by Christ as all human persons are saved from the trials, sufferings, and death of this world; and that having truly died, she was raised by her Son as the Mother of Life and participates already in the eternal life of paradise which is prepared and promised to all who “hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:27-28). Finally, we celebrate the fact that what happens to Mary happens to all who imitate her holy life of humility, obedience, and love.

—Father Thomas Hopko

PASTORAL PONDERINGS

The great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote a short story that confronts humankind with its own greedy nature.

“There once was a man whose soul was enslaved by the lust for money. He was offered as much land as he could walk around between sunrise and sunset. The land would be free, but with one stipulation that unless he was back at the starting point when the sun went down, he would lose his life. As the sun began to rise, he set off north to get as much land as he could. It was nearing noon when he realized he had better turn to begin completing the square of land. He briskly walked west claiming lush, green pastureland. By late afternoon he headed south and had to start running in order to get back to the start by sunset. His prospective estate was proving to be far bigger than he could cover in the stipulated time. Finally, as sunset was approaching, he made the turn eastward and dashed to close the gap. As the sun began to sink below the horizon he chased his long shadows and staggered toward the starting point. Leaping to reach it, his heart exploded inside his chest and he fell down dead.”

“And all he needed,” wrote Tolstoy, “was six feet by two.”

—Father Thomas O’Connell

Last updated: 20-Aug-2007